It was a very excellent morning of birding in Palmer. I first went to the place that I first explored during the past winter when I went looking for, but not finding, an Osprey, the Matanuska Townsite Road. Today I did see an Osprey. I might not have noticed it because it was very, very high overhead, but it was calling the entire time as it flew over. It was my second Osprey of the year (the first was in Anchorage).

The brushy very short road was very birdy. There were four Belted Kingfishers, at least one adult (chasing magpies) and one juvenile Northern Shrike, five or more Alder Flycatchers, two Hairy Woodpeckers, a Downy Woodpecker, four Rusty Blackbirds, four Black-billed Magpies, two American Robins, at least two Savannah Sparrows, a White-winged Crossbill, a Common Redpoll, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Greater Yellowlegs.

I then did a bit of exploration around Palmer fields and then drove back to Anchorage. On the way I stopped at Reflection Lake and walked around it. It was also very birdy but I mainly took pictures of the beautiful lake and the plants (including the fire-color-tinged fireweed leaves).